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New Jersey Transit
}} The New Jersey Transit Corporation (NJ Transit) is a statewide public transportation system serving the state of , and Orange and Rockland counties in . It operates bus, light rail, and commuter rail services throughout the state, notably connecting to major commercial and employment centers both within the state and in the adjacent cities of New York and Philadelphia. All but one of NJ Transit's commuter trains feed into New York's Penn Station in Midtown Manhattan or Hoboken Terminal in . The exception is the Atlantic City Line, which terminates at 30th Street Station in Philadelphia. Most NJ Transit commuter buses go to Manhattan's Port Authority Bus Terminal and to Philadelphia's Greyhound Terminal (or Market Street in Philadelphia). History NJ Transit, founded in 1979, was an offspring of the (NJDOT), mandated by the state government to address the many transportation issues that had developed at the time. NJ Transit came into being with the passage of the Public Transportation Act of 1979 to "acquire, operate and contract for transportation service in the public interest." NJ Transit originally acquired and managed a number of private bus services. (or Consolidated Rail Corporation) had been formed in 1976 through the merging of a number of financially troubled passenger railroads, and operated commuter railroad service under contract from the NJDOT. In 1983, NJ Transit assumed operation of all commuter rail service in New Jersey from Conrail. It now operates every passenger and commuter rail line in the state except for ; the Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH), which is owned by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey; the PATCO Hi-Speedline, which is owned by the Delaware River Port Authority; and a handful of tourist trains in the southern and northwestern parts of New Jersey. New Jersey Transit also runs most of the state's bus lines. In northern New Jersey, many of the bus routes are arranged in a web. In southern New Jersey, most routes are arranged in a "spoke-and-hub" fashion, with routes emanating from Trenton, Camden, and Atlantic City]. In addition to routes run by New Jersey Transit, NJ Transit also subsidizes and provides buses for most of the state's private operators, such as Coach USA, Lakeland, and Academy, providing fixed route or commuter service. In the 1990s, the system expanded, with new Midtown Direct service to and new equipment. On October 21, 2001 it opened a new station at . On December 15, 2003, NJ Transit opened the Secaucus Junction transfer station, connecting two major portions of the system, allowing passengers on Hoboken-bound trains to switch trains to get to more conveniently. The transfer saves passengers headed into Midtown Manhattan an estimated 15 minutes of travel time. On October 31, 2005, NJT took over Clocker (NY-Philadelphia) service from . Four new trains were added to the schedule, but service was cut back to Trenton. Current operations Bus NJ Transit operates a statewide network of buses. There are 3 subdivisions of bus operations: *'Transit' – local service between two points, such as the #1 bus between Newark and Jersey City *'Short Distance Suburban' – mostly interstate service between / and close points within New Jersey, such as routes 123-Union City, 125-Journal Square, 126-Hoboken, 128-North Bergen. Some routes feed Newark or Jersey City such as the 64-Lakewood, 65-Somerville, 68-New Brunswick, and 75-Butler. *'Longer Distance Suburban' – routes covering longer distances operating Express for several miles along the route. Some of these routes use over-the-road coaches with restrooms due to trip times. Most restroom equipped-coaches are used on the 319 line and long-distance routes based out of Atlantic City. NJ Transit owns 3,008 buses and controls 240 bus routes (with numerous other line runs being subsidized by NJ Transit), a number that includes buses owned by New Jersey Transit, but are in other operators' colors. Bus fares are based on distance. NJ Transit routes are numbered as follows: * 1-99: Intrastate service originating from Hudson, Union and Essex counties. * 100-199: Northern New Jersey interstate service. * 200-299: NO ROUTES * 300-399: Special event, seasonal services, northern New Jersey park-and-ride services, long-distance local routes at least 40 miles long originating from New York City or Philadelphia, and the 319-New York City-Atlantic City express. * 400-449: Shorter-Distance suburban routes that cross the . * 450-499: Local intrastate service in Camden, Gloucester, and Salem counties. * 500-549: Local service around Atlantic City. * 550-599: Long-distance service originating from Atlantic City serving points in southern New Jersey. * 600-699: Local service in Mercer County. * 700-799: Local intrastate service in Passaic and Bergen County. * 800-849: Local service in Middlesex and Monmouth counties. * 850-999: WHEELS routes mostly serving western New Jersey, including bus-to-rail shuttles to office parks. Many WHEELS routes are not connected to any other New Jersey Transit bus routes. *MCM routes: Local routes serving Morris County. Light rail NJ Transit operates 3 light rail lines: *Hudson-Bergen Light Rail – a 21-stop, 20.6 mile multi-branch line that runs along the Gold Coast from Bayonne to North Bergen, with a major stop at Hoboken Terminal, all in Hudson County. *Newark Light Rail – a line consisting of two segments serving Newark and the surrounding area. The Newark City Subway segment has 12 stops, is 4.3 miles long, and runs from Newark Penn Station to north Newark and Bloomfield. The Newark Light Rail segment has 4 stops, is 1 mile long, and connects Newark Penn Station to Newark Broad Street Station. *River Line – a 20-stop, 34-mile line running from Trenton to Camden along the , mostly along the Bordentown Secondary line formerly owned by . Fares on NJT's newer light rail lines, unlike bus fares, are not based on distance. Instead, the Newark Light Rail and River Line fare is a flat $1.25, and the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail fare is a flat $1.75 (transfers to bus lines are extra). (Newark City Subway/Newark Light Rail fares, whose operations fall under NJT Bus Operations, have fares based on the bus network, including transfers, zones et al.) Rail NJ Transit has 11 commuter rail lines: *Northeast Corridor Line **Princeton Branch *North Jersey Coast Line *Morris & Essex Lines: **Morristown Line **Gladstone Branch *Raritan Valley Line *Main Line *Bergen County Line *Montclair-Boonton Line *Pascack Valley Line *Atlantic City Line THE Tunnel NJ Transit is preparing to construct a new 2-track Hudson River tunnel adjacent to the 2 existing single-track tunnels (built in the early 20th century) by the . The tunnels are on the Northeast Corridor. NJ Transit is billing this project as THE Tunnel or Trans-Hudson Express Tunnel, which using Dual-Mode Locomotives will allow for the first time a 1-seat ride between the Port Jervis, Main, Bergen County, Pascack Valley, and Raritan Valley lines and Penn Station New York. Governor Jon Corzine has announced that groundwork may begin in 2009 with the tunnels finished in 2016GOVERNOR CORZINE MAKES CAPITAL COMMITMENT FOR NEW TRANS-HUDSON COMMUTER RAIL TUNNEL: Applauds united support from New Jersey and New York senators, press release, dated May 10, 2006. Engineering has recently commenced on this tunnel towards the goal of completion, following recent approval of $2 billion of funding by the Port Authority of New York and New JerseyENGINEERING BEGINS ON TRANS-HUDSON EXPRESS (THE) TUNNEL: NJ TRANSIT Board awards $82.5M contract, New Jersey Transit press release, dated August 1, 2006. Newark-Elizabeth Rail Link Construction has been completed on a section of the Newark-Elizabeth Rail Link, a light rail project in 3 stages that will eventually link the downtowns of Newark and Elizabeth via the Newark Light Rail and the proposed Union County Light Rail. The first stage of construction, which links Newark Broad Street and Newark Penn Station via the Newark Light Rail, opened in July 2006. The remaining two stages of this project were removed from the list of NJ Transit's capital improvement projects on May 10, 2006, making it unlikely that they will be constructed. Lackawanna Cutoff In May of 2001, New Jersey Transit purchased the property of the Lackawanna Cutoff. This line, constructed by the Wikipedia:Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad between 1908 and 1911 provided a direct, level-graded route between the ( ), two miles (3.25 km) below the , to the crest of the watershed at ( ). The DL&W had a penchant for extensive concrete construction, and as a result, most of the structures, including stations, bridges, and vast viaducts are still in operational or near-operational condition, despite the abandonment by in 1979. A 2004 study conducted by New Jersey Transit estimates that bringing the line back into operation would cost approximately $350 million. The proposed rehabilitation project, which still lacks funding, if completed, would provide direct, high-speed commuter rail service between and Hoboken Terminal on the Hudson River waterfront in New Jersey (with connecting service to trains serving New York's Penn Station). Service to would be made available to the growing exurban communities in Monroe County in , and in upper Warren County and lower Sussex County. Proposed Station Stopshttp://www.njtransit.com/images/an_cp_proposed_lackawanna_cutoff.gif map of proposed service, accessed December 7, 2006 New Jersey *Andover *Blairstown Pennsylvania *East Stroudsburg *Analomink *Mount Pocono *Scranton NYC-Atlantic City service On June 20, 2006, the board of New Jersey Transit approved a three-year trial of express train service between New York Penn Station and Atlantic City Rail Terminal. The estimated travel time will be 2½ hours with a few stops along the way and is part of the casinos' multi-million dollar investments in Atlantic City. Most of the funding for the new transit line will be provided by (owners of both and ) and the . The line is expected to be in service by the end of 2007, but details on the line's operation are scant.NJ TRANSIT BOARD APPROVES NEW YORK – ATLANTIC CITY EXPRESS RAIL SERVICE press release, accessed June 20, 2006 Monmouth-Ocean-Middlesex (MOM) The Monmouth-Ocean-Middlesex (MOM)NJ TRANSIT Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for MOM line is a proposed central New Jersey commuter rail route offering those county's residents access to New Brunswick, Newark and New York's Penn Station. This route would run on a 40.1-mile rail corridor and would provide diesel commuter rail service from Monmouth Junction (South Brunswick), where the Jamesburg Branch partially joins the Northeast Corridor (NEC), to Lakehurst. From , the line would continue southeast to Jamesburg, Monroe, Englishtown, Manalapan, Freehold Borough, Freehold Township, Howell and Farmingdale. A new rail connection would be required in Farmingdale. It would proceed southward from Farmingdale to Lakehurst, passing through Howell, Lakewood, Jackson, Toms River Township, and Lakehurst/Manchester. Trains on this line would also operate on the NEC between Monmouth Junction and Newark. Passengers destined for would transfer at Newark. Eight new stations and a train storage yard would be constructed. Possible Station Stops *Lakehurst/Manchester (all routes) *Jackson (all routes) *Lakewood (all routes) Red Bank Alignment (East Route) *Howell-Glen Oak Rd *Howell-Route 33 *Eatontown *Red Bank transfer to NJT North Jersey Coast Line Matawan Alignment (Central Route) *Freehold Township *Freehold (Jackson St) *Marlboro *Morganville *Aberdeen/Matawan transfer to NJT North Jersey Coast Line (Note: Construction of the Henry Hudson Trail, a rail-trail, upon this alignment, may preclude this route as an option.) Henry Hudson Trail - Monmouth County Parks System Monmouth Junction Alignment (West Route) *Freehold Township *Freehold (Throckmorton St) *Manalapan *Jamesburg *South Brunswick *Monmouth Junction (new transfer to NECL) *New Brunswick transfer to NEC *Metropark transfer to NEC *Newark Airport transfer to NEC *Newark Penn Station transfer to NEC Multilevel Trains Introduction On 12 December 2006, NJ Transit introduced its first Multilevel Train, operating as train 3844 on the Northeast Corridor.First Multilevel Train Debuts on Northeast Corridor The train's six multilevel cars were manufactured by Bombardier Transportation. By spring 2007, 18 more cars will enter service. Next fall, multilevel trains will begin to operate on the Morris & Essex and North Jersey Coast lines. All 234 cars will be delivered by the end of 2008. Cars *86 Coach cars with bathrooms = 132 Seats (each) *33 Cab cars with bathrooms = 127 Seats (each) *115 Coach cars without bathrooms = 142 Seats (each) Amounts to *234 Cars See also * * *AirTrain (Newark) *Sunnyside Yard References External links *NJ Transit official site *New Jersey Transit (NJT), TNJ and Public Service Buses *Directions to NJ Transit Train stations and Transit map using google maps api *Railfanning.org: NJ Transit Profile